You've heard and read so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, you feel the moment has come to try them out in the run-up to the holiday period. The problem is expense.
But it seems there are other options rather than getting a prescription and going to the chemist. A text message comes through providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to go through official channels. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The problem is these ads are almost certainly scams. At best, you will be sent no product and forfeit whatever money you paid. In the worst, you obtain a counterfeit item, with unknown ingredients that could lead to severe health problems.
The popularity of authentic slimming drugs has led to a rise in counterfeit products hitting the market and scams set up to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against buying such unlawful slimming medications without a prescription from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and additional components that could cause genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank reveal a sharp rise in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the scam. The bank says, the amount of money stolen through scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and fat-dissolving products between July and September , was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Scammers are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and medical worries, with such frauds soaring in the past few months,” notes a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
The majority occur on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, a profile may mimic the brand that you seek, but there will typically be slight variations in spelling or brand marks.
The messages or updates will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of certain authentic weight loss jabs, has increased of late, the fraudsters will price their “product” lower.
“Buying from unapproved vendors on the internet can come at a significant financial, medical and emotional cost,” says the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the wise saying applies: should something seem too good to be true, it likely isn't genuine.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when purchasing medications via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose serious risks to wellbeing.
Criminals can go to great lengths to make their site or social media page look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, it's possible to verify the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm this is properly registered.
